When Bad Things Happen to Good Penguins

What is the film "March of the Penguins" really about? A penguin speaks out.

When I recently recommended "March of the Penguins" to a friend, she wrinkled her nose. "I saw it already."

"You didn't like it?" I asked, taken by surprise. How could she not like a nature movie? People all over the world were flocking to see it (pun intended). Even I -- fiercely vigilant about guarding my brain against the poison of Hollywood, who am proud to say that I never go to movies -- was enchanted, transported, and educated by this one.

"Well," my friend replied, "first there were the old penguins falling by the wayside during the march and left behind to die. Then the mother and father penguins who broke their eggs, just in sheer carelessness. And that terrible sequence about babies being kidnapped by predators, in really cruel ways, and bereaved mothers trying to steal other people's babies --" She corrected herself. "Other penguins' babies to replace her own. And cute little chicks dying of starvation or freezing to death while the parents were away looking for food, and the parents mourning. I thought it was morbid."

Susan is an avid connoisseur of 20th century American fiction -- a literary genre not known for its optimistic view of human nature. She has never impressed me as someone with a predilection for stories that end happily ever after. So how come she reacted like this to the realism of a National Geographic documentary?

"But most of the penguins survived," I said, "The grand majority of them. And the old penguins left behind to die, that was the exception, not the rule. Same thing with the eggs breaking -- it just happened sometimes, to the young, inexperienced parents."

"And the chicks dying while the parents were off stuffing themselves?"

"Excuse me," said a woman at the next table. We were at Coffee Bean in Jerusalem. "Maybe you didn't understand. The mothers weren't eating just for themselves. They regurgitated the food later on, for the babies to eat."

"Yuck," said Susan. "What a menu. And the mother carried off underwater by that horrible-looking eel, or whatever it was, that long slimy thing with the sharp teeth? How would you explain that?"

I could see Susan's point. That eel really was ugly. Nature's so ruthless sometimes. With laws like that, who needs lawlessness?

"No deadbeat dads in this community! Remember how a father picked out his own chick among all the thousands in the crowd, just by the sound of its peep?"

"What's wrong with instinct?" This remark came from the table to our left, a man with a frappucino. "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing just now and I'd like to point out that those fathers went away in order to support their families, then found their way back months later to the same exact spot. No deadbeat dads in that community! Remember how a father picked out his own chick among all the thousands in the crowd, just by the sound of its peep? Even though to us, all the penguins appear 100% identical! Does the fact that a certain behavior is instinctive make it any less amazing?"

Susan rolled her eyes. "He sounds like one of those intelligent design people," she muttered under her breath. "Excuse me, sir, but everything penguins do is genetically programmed."

"So what do you expect," said the woman, "for them to have free will?"

"Well..." Susan stirred her cafe latte, scooping up some of the whipped cream and tasting it thoughtfully. "Look, what can I do, the movie depressed me. Why do they have to suffer so much? They're such lovely creatures."

ON LOCATION FOR AISH.COM

The discussion in Coffee Bean prompted me to take a short trip to Antarctica, in the hope of interviewing some of the penguins for aish.com.

Unfortunately, I arrived at a bad time -- most of the females had just left for their three-month ocean sojourn in search of food, and those who remained (mostly males) were very busy and preoccupied, taking care of their young. But one of the fathers, who identified himself only as Hmm, agreed to spend a few minutes answering questions to the best of his ability.

Isn't it about 30 degrees below zero here, Hmm?

"That's right."

How do you account for the phenomenal success of the new film about your community?

"Human beings seem to find it astonishing that they're not the only ones who have feelings. We love, we mourn, we feel happy. What our emotional life lacks in complexity, it makes up in intensity."

Why do you think we're surprised that you have deep feelings?

"Each human being regards himself as a unique individual, which in fact is the case. He also has an underlying, sometimes unacknowledged belief that he is his own creator, which is true in only one respect: he can't change his nature but he can create his own character traits. When he sees one zillion penguins -- all of us sporting exactly the same face and wearing exactly the same uniform -- going through many of the same life experiences as his own, and on some occasions behaving more nobly than he, it produces a profoundly pleasant confusion. It tickles his pride, and challenges his basic assumptions. Of course, human beings are one-up over us, to say the least, because they have free will. We penguins have none, and that makes all the difference. To have free will is a like having a little bit of the Divine Creator right there inside you. I envy you that. But humans don't face the fact that their free will is programmed into them as much as any instinct."

Programmed?

"Yes. It's such a fantastically perfect system -- all our trials and joys, the snow above and the ice below, etc., etc. -- that human beings are motivated to explain it away by saying it came about by chance. Otherwise, they'd have to recognize the existence of an Intellect greater then their own, of which there is a corollary: they might have to change their behavior in light of that Intellect."

Do your sufferings ennoble you?

"Unfortunately, no. Only human beings can be ennobled by their sufferings and by whatever sacrifices they make for each other and for the Creator. We, on the other hand, do not develop. We just do what we have to do."

Some human beings see suffering as senseless, and think that's proof that life on earth came about by chance.

"Just goes to show that humans are inexplicably blind to the unbelievable beauty of the world. I suppose God made you that way for a good reason."

You have a certain way of walking that has charmed audiences around the globe. Can you say what it is about your gait that has human beings captivated?

"We look very humble and self-effacing, the way we shuffle forward, rocking from side-to-side. We are in fact humble, but it doesn't do us any good. Because we have no other options."

Is your wife one of those who has left camp to go fishing?

"Yes. I miss Hrr but know she'll be back in 89 days."

Her name is Hrr?

"Yes, all our females are named Hrr, and the rest of us are Hmm."

It's very impressive, the way you parents sacrifice your own comfort for the babies.

"If you were one of us, you'd do the same. I must go now to track down my chicks. Goodbye."

* * *

Back in Jerusalem, I told Susan all about my talk with Hmm, but she thought I was making it up.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 16

(16)
Paul Burnett,
June 29, 2009 2:25 PM

"March" is NOT a "Hollywood" Movie!

"March" was was shot in Antarctica (duh) by French - not American - moviemakers. It is in no way a "Hollywood" movie - see its Wikipedia article. And the "eel" that ate the penguin was not an eel at all - it was a leopard seal - a fellow mammal feeding ITS young.

(15)
JudithRazieli,
October 11, 2006 11:03 AM

Your site

I loved the Penguin story and just found your site. Thank you. I love it and will spend a lot of time on my computer now that I found you.

Shapiro's piece is so gracefully written, so funny and so deep, so philosophical. I'm saving it and showing it to my friends and family.

(12)
Julia,
February 7, 2006 12:00 AM

It's about how a penquin's life is about love, joy, sorrow, miracles of childbirth, relationships and their walk through life.

There may be things in the penquin's life that we don't understand, but need to accept. Just like our creator has planned for us, we may not understand why we do what we do, only what's expected of us. My family thought that it was a very enriching film as well as educational for us to learn more about the penquins.

(11)
Laurie,
February 6, 2006 12:00 AM

no question

I just saw the movie 2 nights ago, and the message that I left was....there is no way to watch that movie, with the precision that is necessary for those birds to procreate (thousands flock by instinct to one central spot, find their mates, mate, lay their eggs, know by instinct that the male must incubate it while the female goes off to store up food, have the female return on the exact day that the chicks are born to start feeding, and then the male leaves....)-- there's no WAY to watch that and say that there's no God. Intellegent Design. Whatever.

(10)
Merlock,
February 6, 2006 12:00 AM

Animals must have a little bit of soul. Not necessarily human souls, but souls nonetheless.

(9)
ron,
February 6, 2006 12:00 AM

animals do have free choice - or do they?

the midrash states that during the 10 plagues, frogs jumped into ovens for a kiddush hashem. The dogs stopped barking at the Jews and were even rewarded for this. How can an animal make a kiddush hashem or be rewarded unless they have some measure of "bechira" (free choice)?

(8)
Ilan,
February 6, 2006 12:00 AM

Somebody please explain this..

I don't understand this passage:

Some human beings see suffering as senseless, and think that's proof that life on earth came about by chance.

"Just goes to show that humans are inexplicably blind to the unbelievable beauty of the world. I suppose God made you that way for a good reason."

So an earthquake that kills 80,000 people is "unbelievable beauty" and thinking that it is a horrible event is "inexplicable blindness"? I really don't understand.

(7)
Rivka Lichtenstein,
February 5, 2006 12:00 AM

See No Evil...

I dunno...this kind of contradicts what we've learnt from our tuxedo adorned friends in Madagascar ;-)

VERY well done, and in a most humorous style!

(6)
Tova Saul,
February 5, 2006 12:00 AM

Bravo

Sarah Shapiro has accomplished a major feat: The first article about animals I have seen written by an Orthodox Jew that is logical, compassionate, correct, and entertaining from beginning all the way to the end. Bravo. Thank you so much, Sarah.

(5)
Apryl,
February 5, 2006 12:00 AM

evidence!

Thank-you so much for being you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (so am I), and He made you a writer. Please keep being yourself!

(4)
Barbie,
February 5, 2006 12:00 AM

Shapiro has a unique gift. She mezmerized me with her knowledge, and imagination.

Shapiro has a unique gift. She writes with a fluidity that mesmerizes the reader. I look forward to receiving more of her articles. she leaves the reader with much 'food for thought.'

Since honey is produced by bees, and bees are not a kosher species, how can honey be kosher?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Talmud (Bechoros 7b) asks your very question! The Talmud bases this question on the principle that “whatever comes from a non-kosher species is non-kosher, and that which comes from something kosher is kosher.”

So why is bee-honey kosher? Because even though bees bring the nectar into their bodies, the resultant honey is not a 'product' of their bodies. It is stored and broken down in their bodies, but not produced there. (see Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 81:8)

By the way, the Torah (in several places such as Exodus 13:5) praises the Land of Israel as "flowing with milk and honey." But it may surprise you to know that the honey mentioned in the verse is actually referring to date and fig honey (see Rashi there)!

In 1809, a group of 70 disciples of the great Lithuanian sage the Vilna Gaon, arrived in Israel, after traveling via Turkey by horse and wagon. The Vilna Gaon set out for the Holy Land in 1783, but for unknown reasons did not attain his goal. However he inspired his disciples to make the move, and they became pioneers of modern settlement in Israel. (A large contingent of chassidic Jews arrived in Tzfat around the same time.) The leader of the 1809 group, Rabbi Israel of Shklov, settled in Tzfat, and six years later moved to Jerusalem where he founded the modern Ashkenazic community. The early years were fraught with Arab attacks, earthquakes, and a cholera epidemic. Rabbi Israel authored, Pe'at Hashulchan, a digest of the Jewish agricultural laws relating to the Land of Israel. (He had to rewrite the book after the first manuscript was destroyed in a fire.) The location of his grave remained unknown until it was discovered in Tiberias, 125 years after his death. Today, the descendants of that original group are amongst the most prominent families in Jerusalem.

When you experience joy, you feel good because your magnificent brain produces hormones called endorphins. These self-produced chemicals give you happy and joyful feelings.

Research on these biochemicals has proven that the brain-produced hormones enter your blood stream even if you just act joyful, not only when you really are happy. Although the joyful experience is totally imaginary and you know that it didn’t actually happen, when you speak and act as if that imaginary experience did happen, you get a dose of endorphins.

These chemicals are naturally produced by your brain. They are totally free and entirely healthy.

Many people find that this knowledge inspires them to create more joyful moments. It’s not just an abstract idea, but a physical reality.

Occasionally, when I walk into an office, the receptionist greets me rudely. Granted, I came to see someone else, and a receptionist's disposition is immaterial to me. Yet, an unpleasant reception may cast a pall.

A smile costs nothing. Greeting someone with a smile even when one does not feel like smiling is not duplicity. It is simply providing a pleasant atmosphere, such as we might do with flowers or attractive pictures.

As a rule, "How are you?" is not a question to which we expect an answer. However, when someone with whom I have some kind of relationship poses this question, I may respond, "Not all that great. Would you like to listen?" We may then spend a few minutes, in which I unburden myself and invariably begin to feel better. This favor is usually reciprocated, and we are both thus beneficiaries of free psychotherapy.

This, too, complies with the Talmudic requirement to greet a person in a pleasant manner. An exchange of feelings that can alleviate someone's emotional stress is even more pleasant than an exchange of smiles.

It takes so little effort to be a real mentsch.

Today I shall...

try to greet everyone in a pleasant manner, and where appropriate offer a listening ear.

With stories and insights,
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